Phototrophic biofilms and their potential applications

Phototrophic biofilms occur on surfaces exposed to light in a range of terrestrial and aquatic environments. Oxygenic phototrophs like diatoms, green algae, and cyanobacteria are the major primary producers that generate energy and reduce carbon dioxide, providing the system with organic substrates and oxygen. Photosynthesis fuels processes and conversions in the total biofilm community, including the metabolism of heterotrophic organisms. A matrix of polymeric substances secreted by phototrophs and heterotrophs enhances the attachment of the biofilm community. This review discusses the actual and potential applications of phototrophic biofilms in wastewater treatment, bioremediation, fish-feed production, biohydrogen production, and soil improvement.

• Publication year

  2007

• Venue

  Journal of Applied Phycology

• Publication date

  2007-08-12

• Fields of study

  Biology, Medicine, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1007/s10811-007-9223-2PMID 19396356PMCID 2668646
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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